Grubb to become crew chief for Kahne for remainder of 2017

As the intensity of the NASCAR playoffs increases after Chicagoland Speedway, Hendrick Motorsports has announced that Darian Grubb will replace Keith Rodden as the crew chief for Kasey Kahne beginning this weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

“Darian is an extremely talented and experienced crew chief,” said Hendrick Motorsports president Marshall Carlson. “Having been back with us for more than 20 months, he knows all of our people and processes. There’s no one more prepared to hit the ground running at this point in the year.”

Grubb joined Hendrick Motorsports in 2003 as the lead race engineer for Jimmie Johnson until 2006. In 2006, Grubb was the interim crew chief during the No. 48’s championship season. In 2007, Grubb scored his first win as a crew chief for Casey Mears. In 2008, he was named the engineering manager for the Nos. 5 and 88 teams.

In one year, Grubb moved to a crew chief role at Stewart-Haas Racing for three season with Tony Stewart scoring 11 wins and the 2011 championship title. After being released from Stewart-Haas at the end of 2011, Grubb moved to Joe Gibbs Racing as crew chief for Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards scoring nine victories in total.

Grubb made his return to Hendrick Motorsports to oversee race car manufacturing as vehicle production director in 2016. Recently, Grubb was promoted to the director of competition systems.

“I’m looking forward to working with the team for the rest of the season,” said Grubb. “I enjoy competing in a playoffs environment, and we have tremendous resources at Hendrick Motorsports to pull from. I’m ready to get started this weekend.”

Rodden will remain under contract with Hendrick Motorsports until the end of 2017. He will be assigned to other opportunities. Hendrick Motorsports will announce their crew chief lineup for the 2018 season at a later date.

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About Caleb Whisler

Going into his second year of specializing in NASCAR, Caleb Whisler is passionate about the sport. Growing up in a racing family, racing was all Caleb knew. To honor his grandfather's favorite driver, Caleb was named after Cale Yarborough. You can follow Caleb on social media at @Caleb_Whisler